Home-Based Women Workers Rally in Karachi, Pakistan

The lady health workers' leaders reiterate that more than 130,000 LHW have successfully run basic health campaigns for last 17 years to eradicate polio and other contagion diseases from the society and provided the health facilities on the door step on very low salaries of merely 7000 rupees and their services were still not regularized.  The struggle of lady health workers will carry on till the fulfillment of their demands for legal protections and a pay scale.

They also showed their solidarity with human rights activist Asma Jehangir for her steadfastness on human rights issues, especially on the plight of missing persons and condemned the character assassination campaign of reactionary forces against Asma Jehangir.  They also expressed their deep concern on the growing menace of kidnapping of girls belonging to religious minorities and the forcible conversions of them, stating this will not be tolerated at any cost, and in camaraderie with Ms Rinkle Komari and her family who was kidnapped and forcibly converted with the backing of influential feudal  lords. 
 
In the rally, the following was demanded:

  • Abolish all discriminatory laws
  • Recognize home-based women workers as labourers under the law and register them with all state-run social security schemes
  • Recognize home-based workers' right to collective bargaining
  • Immediately provided legal protections and regulations for all lady health workers and formulate pay scale with the consent of LHW representative body.
  • End the feudal system and introduce radical land reforms and provide women peasants with the right to own land
  • End the Jirga system and declare it an criminal act
  • Declare March 8th a public holiday
  • End all kinds of harassment of women workers in factories, offices and other workplaces
  • Lower the cost of utilities including electricity, gas and water, and end the privatization of these utilities
  • Provide regulations for the working conditions for all temporary, casual, and contract workers of public and private sector establishments
  • Release all political prisoners including comrade Baba Jan and other arrested comrades, and six Faisalabad power loom workers
  • Recover all kidnapped women including Rinkle Komari, and arrest the culprits and their bosses involves in heinous crimes; restore respect for and the confidence of religious minorities
  • End the character assassination campaign against Amsa Jehangir systematically launched by reactionary forces with the backing of the so-called establishment
  • End the military operation against Baloch Nation which has hurt the Baloch women very much
  • Institute state subsidies on essential items including flour, rice, lentils, sugar, cooking oil and other food items
  • No to the privatization of health, education and transport

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